Putting the Pieces Together - Conclusion (10)

By Hazel Holland

Although we have by no means covered every passage of Scripture on the topic of healing and the atonement, I believe we have studied the important ones. After briefly studying the essential “healing” Scriptures in their context I have come to the firm conclusion that the primary purpose of God’s saving work for us through Jesus Christ’s life, death and resurrection, was to deal with the spiritual sickness of our souls—sin.

Sin deserved the penalty of death, so Jesus took the punishment for our sins upon Himself and bore that punishment in our place. But in no sense can the same be said for sickness or disease. Christ forgave sin, but He never forgave sickness or disease, because sickness and disease didn’t need atonement. These natural consequences of sin didn’t separate us from God. If we are honest we will have to admit that some of the most important spiritual lessons of life have been learned when we have been flat on our backs from sickness or disease.

I most certainly believe that the spiritual healing of our souls that Christ purchased for us through His atonement extends from the spiritual realm of our souls into the physical realm of our bodies. By bearing our sins upon Himself, He also ultimately took care of the natural results of sin—sickness, disease, demonic activity and death.

We can emphatically claim with confidence that all who turn to Jesus Christ by faith for spiritual healing will find forgiveness of sins and a restored relationship with God here and now. However, we cannot claim with confidence that all who turn to Jesus Christ by faith for physical healing will always obtain the blessing of health here and now. We battle disease and death every day of our lives, because we still live in a sinful world that is groaning to be delivered from the curse of sin. Although physical healing is a benefit of the atonement, it is not an irrevocable gift that Scripture promises we are entitled to receive here and now.

Scripture clearly commands us to pray for the sick so that they may be healed, but Scripture also emphasizes that spiritual healing for our souls still takes precedence over the physical healing of our bodies. Besides being confirmed by Scripture, I have also found it to be true in my own life that confession of sin and the resulting forgiveness often prepares the way for the physical healing of our bodies.

When we pray for the sick we must always pray in faith, and according to His will, because God always answers our prayers according to His sovereign timing, not ours. Although Christ did not provide universal exemption from physical sickness or physical death in the here and now when we pray based on the grounds of His finished work on the cross, these blessings will be eventually realized by all of us who put our faith in Him.

Although it is true that all blessings come to us from the cross, there are many blessings in the atonement that we have to wait for until the fullness of time when God will restore all things in Jesus Christ.

For example, in the cross deliverance from death is ours through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, yet death is very much present with us here and now. While death was conquered in the atonement when Jesus rose from the grave, we will not experience complete freedom from death until the Second Coming of Christ. Only deliverance from spiritual death is promised here and now when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but deliverance from physical death is not guaranteed until death is swallowed up in victory at the Second Coming of Christ.

Therefore, I believe it is acceptable to say that physical healing is a benefit of the atonement, as long as we do not presume that physical healing will always be experienced here and now like the forgiveness of sins. Although the atonement removed the curse of sin, this curse is still very much present upon the whole creation as it groans to be delivered from this present state of things.

"For while we are still in this tent, we groan under the burden and sigh deeply (weighed down, depressed, oppressed)--not that we want to put off the body (the clothing of the spirit), but rather that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal (our dying body) may be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection].” 2 Corinthians 5:4 (Amplified Bible)

Every New Testament passage that has teaching on the atonement is significantly silent about physical healing. For example, when Christ instituted the Lord's Supper, He stated that His blood was poured out so that we could receive spiritual healing for our sins.

“Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” Matthew 26:27-28 (NIV)

Furthermore, the apostle Paul states that there is only one single purpose for Christ's death:

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:3 (NIV)

If there were Scriptures which could legitimately be interpreted to teach that Jesus Christ died for our sicknesses like he died for our sins, then Christians who are not healed would have good reason to doubt their salvation. Unfortunately, some believers still do doubt their salvation, because they’ve been taught that all healing promises apply here and now to physical healing. So they are devastated when God doesn’t answer their prayers for healing in the way they believed He should.

Sadly, well known proponents of the faith-healing movement continue to vigorously teach that since both healing and salvation are derived from the same atonement, it is just as easy to be physically healed as it is to be saved. But what they fail to understand, in my opinion, is the eschatological nature of the atonement, and the fundamental difference between the physical healing of our bodies and the spiritual healing of our souls.

Understanding that the Kingdom of God exists in the present age makes us want to spread the Good News of salvation as we minister to the needs of those around us. However, we must not forget that the completion of the Kingdom is still a glorious future reality. We cannot transform this present world into God’s future ideal kingdom no matter how much we try to live in a way that reflects God and His Kingdom.

Why not some may ask? Because I believe the Bible teaches us that God’s Kingdom will finally come through apocalyptic intervention. After destroying Satan and his kingdom, the Scriptures reveal (See Daniel 2:44, 7:13-14, 22 and Revelation 11:15, 19:11-16). that God will finally set up His everlasting Kingdom that will cover the earth—a Kingdom of love and peace where sin and sickness will be no more.

In closing, I would like to say that after finishing this study on healing and the atonement I have come to a place of deep rest where I can now choose to trust in God's sovereign timing and will as far as physical healing in this life is concerned. Because physical healing is a blessing of the atonement that happens in this life, but is not guaranteed here and now, I can now pray in faith for the sick and leave the timing of that healing with God, knowing that physical healing, if not received now, will be ultimately realized when we all receive our glorified bodies.

If God chooses to heal now, I praise Him! But if He chooses the healing to be future (like He did with my friends who died of cancer) I can wait, knowing that His promise of healing is sure, and will be fully realized at the Second Coming when death will be finally swallowed up by Life!